Stars: 5 out of 5
Pros: Great moral and story for young girls
Cons: Not much to
appeal to adults or boys
The Bottom Line:
Great new VeggieTale
For the target audience
Mostly for the girls
Loving Others Because He Loved Us
The last several VeggieTales releases have definitely been
aimed at girls. There's nothing wrong
with that (in fact, you could say they really needed to add a few to their
roster), but they don't appeal to me as much as some of their other
releases. So when I saw that this month
they were releasing The Penniless Princess, I wasn't jumping for joy. Still, I had to watch it, and I found myself
enjoying it.
This episode is based on the classic novel A Little Princess
by Frances Hodgson Burnett, a book I must confess I've never read. But based on a plot synopsis, it sounds like
they do a decent job of telling the main story in 50 minutes. Sara Crewe is left with Miss Minchin's school
while her father fights inIndia. But
when he dies, Sara is reduced to living at the school as a servant. Fortunately, she has befriended many of the students. Will that help her deal with her new
circumstances? Is God still watching
her?
Yes, I can already tell a few changes that were made to the
book, and I'm sure those who love the story will see others. What interests me is the moral we're supposed
to take from watching the story. The
outside of the DVD says this is a lesson in True Worth. And there is talk about God's love for
us. They even wrap up the video with the
verse from Romans about nothing separating us from God's love. That's certainly true in the story as we see
God bringing about a happy ending for Sara.
However, I think there's more to the lesson than that. Sara makes it clear multiple times in the
course of the story that her love for those around her is because of how God
loves her. Even when she is a student,
she treats all the students, Miss Minchin, and even the servant Becky as equals
and friends. Not everyone accepts her
behavior to them, but it is a great reminder of how we should be treating
others. Then again, I guess you could
say that seeing other's True Worth because of how God sees us is really what
this is all about.
Now, I know I've talked a lot about the moral here, but
that's in contrast to the video. Unlike
the last couple, I didn't think this one preached or beat us over the head with
it. Yes, it is obvious what we are
supposed to be learning, and the characters talk about it some, but it feels
like it grows from the story instead of being forced in there.
Unlike some videos, this one has just the one story. There are several catchy new songs about
God's love and loving others that are fun.
And there's a new silly song - "Best Friends Forever" that is
a texting acronym song. It's mostly
amusing with the best laughs coming at the end.
Very few of the classic VeggieTales characters are in this
video, instead focusing on Sara, a vegetable I couldn't even quite
recognize. Several of the supporting
players have bigger roles this time around, like Madame Blueberry and Laura
Carrot. Either way, the voice work from
the various voice actors is great as always, especially from those who voice
multiple characters.
The one thing missing from VeggieTales recently is the humor
from the old classics. I'd say that is
missing here as well. There are some
chuckles in the wrap around as Larry tries to class things up since we are
looking at a classic story here. But the
best laugh comes early on as how realistic musicals are or aren't is
discussed. It's a throw away bit, but I
loved it.
I cried while watching it. It's my favourite episode.
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